Pettitte was 14-8 with a 4.16 ERA in 2009. He went 4-0 in five postseason starts, with the
final win coming in Game 6 of the World Series. It has been widely reported that if the Yankees didn’t sign him this winter he was going to retire.

As for the deal itself: he was given a low base salary last year — $5.5 million. In a lot of ways it seems like a $12 million, no-or-low incentives deal is something of a reward for him taking some risks last season.

The Yankees kicked ass in the playoffs. They are continuing to kick ass in the winter meetings. It’s their world, and we’re all just living in it.

I think Cashman has a series of moves planned out. I think they still sign Damon or Matsui (whoever will take the offer he will make for 1/2 years at no more than $10m) and I bet there’s a stealth trade coming for a pitcher using Melky/Gardner and Hughes/Joba. Just a guess, but the Granderson deal feels like the first step toward something.

Welcome back Andy!!! I think your going to see the Yankees sign Damon as long as Scott Boras doesn’t screw it up and then HOPEFULLY go after Halladay. John Lackey is looking for too much at 6 years 100 million dollars. Put Gardner, Joba and maybe one other prospect in a package and try to sell it to Toronto for Halladay. What it will take extension and contract wise to get Halladay signed though is the big question, he is going to command BIG money.

THE YANKEES SINCE 1973 SIMPLY JUST LEGALLY UTILIZE ALL THE RULES BETTER THAN ALL OTHER BASEBALL CLUB…….. THESE RULES WERE PUT INTO PLACE TO STOP THE YANKEES FROM BUYING THE BETTER PLAYERS LIKE THEY DID IN THE 40’S & 50’S………….. FREE AGENTS SIGNINGS RULE 5 DRAFT ALL WERE DESIGNED TO STRENGTHENED THE GAME IT WAS BY AND LARGE ACCOMPLISHED AFTER 1978 NO REPEAT WINNER UNTIL THE BLUE JAYS OF THE EARLY 90’S AND THEN THE NEW YANKEE DYNASTY IN THE LATE 90’S WHICH CONTINUES AS WE REACH 2010 BACK ON TOP WHERE THEY BELONG…………. 27 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE BEYOND BEING INCREDIBLE……….. LETS HOPE THEY HAVE ANOTHER BACK TO BACK WINNING SEASON GO GO GO YANKS

I think they’ll deal Matsui to the Mariners…he’s expressed an interest in playing next to Ichiro and I would imagine they’ll keep Damon. Pettitte was a no-brainer. He want’s to retire in a Yankee uniform. As Craig so aptly put it, ‘It’s their world and we’re just living it”.
Go Yankees!

Good move. The Yanks can’t assume winning another title with the same roster, getting younger and more athletic is the way to go. It was good to see Damon really hustle toward the latter part of the year. But let’s face it, he was in his walk year, we rarely see the intensity pop again after someone signs. As a Met, we have not seen that from Carlos Beltran after his hot October 2004 with the Astros.

This reminds me of a great joke about the astronaut who crashlands on a world full of beautiful amazons, and when he wakes up in the hospital he sees that his nurse’s nipples are made of diamonds, her inguinal regions encrusted with gold and precious stones, and her teeth made of platinum. He asks, “are all the women on your planet like this?” And she replies…..
Unfortunately, Craig wouldn’t want me to print the punchline here.

mick-7-1961, Actually mick, Matsui has already stated in an interview with Tom Verducci that he is not interested in playing in Seattle next to Ichiro as there appears to be some rivalry between the two guys. Apparently this rivalry is from their days in Japan.

I wish I could have gotten a better look at Austin Jackson, but Granderson is a solid player who immediately upgrades the Yanks defensively-the outfield being one of their few weaknesses last year. Damon and Matsui have always been a defensive liability and Granderson gives them a ton of options in the outfield. I personally hope they sign Matsui and Damon. Joe Girardi could micro-manage to his hearts content with different outfield looks. Keeping Johhny D in this possible lineup allows Godzilla to DH all year long, which would keep his health risk to a minimum. The man can obviously still rake. I don’t care how bad his knees/legs are. Unless Austin Jackson is the next Curtis Granderson I think this move pays off for the Yanks.

Well, Howard, you are a typical Yankee fan – your myopic goggles have pinstripes. First, for all the money the Yankees have spent in the past decade, they have exactly the same number of World Series Campionships as the Boston Red Sox (who spent considerably less). And the Yankees still could not beat the Marlins(!) in 2003 (after Grady Little gave you the ALCS on a silver platter. Second, the Yankees are still trying to live down the biggest CHOKE of the decade – the 2004 ALCS – which sent the Red Sox onto their WS title. Your Yankees should have gotten a better return on their money, son. Think about it.

Black Owl, Might I suggest you tune in to the MLB channels season in review and take a good hard look at some of Curtis Granderson’s defense, IT IS POOR and the video may make you ill. This poor defensive showing was also in a park where centerfield is not as big as Yankee Stadium. He is also a strikeout king and does not hit left handed pitching well. The other thing that strikes me is that the all the people saying Granderson will rebound are Tigers fans that are glad to see him gone. I will shelve all of these concerns for the time being and give him a chance. I actually saw A-Jax play at Scranton/Wilkes Barre and I was impressed, he appeared to know the strike zone, had good speed and was definetly better on defense than Granderson. He was still improving as well and was a true five tool player. I am sad to see the Yankees cut him loose without at least giving him a chance. If we gave Brett Gardner a chance we should have most certainly given A-Jax a chance. I do agree with you about Granderson being an upgrade over Damon and Matsui if only slightly however. The Yankees should resign Damon but it unfortunately is time for Matsui to move on, with the age of some of our infielders and in the intrest of keeping others rested as the season comes to an end we just do not need to pay a full time DH that cannot contribute in other areas.

Good for Pettite. Yankees have confidence in him, that he won’t get hurt. Otherwise, it would have been a high-incentive deal.
As for Granderson, in order for him to succeed at the Stadium, he will need to make consistent contact with the ball and avoid the whiffs. Not sure he can do it. Lifetime BA at the Stadium of .192 – below The Mendoza Line.
As for Granderson’s defensive prowess, let’s see how he handles balls hit to all parts of CF at the Stadium first, especially if he has Melky or Jason Bay in LF and will have to cover for them.
So sorry, but the Yankees will actually have to play all 162 games next year, and no one will be persuaded to give them the pennant by acclamation.

Pettitte deserves a pay raise after his gutsy performance in all of the three playoff series. Granderson is an upgrade on defense but a downgrade on his offense vs. either Damon or Matsui. My educated guess his offense in the next playoff games will be similar to Teixeira, Cano, Swisher, and Carbrera – none or very low RBI. In order to repeat the World Series Championship, Yankees need clutch hitters like Matsui and Damon. My guess is Cashman will sign Matsui because he will be cheaper and a better clutch hitter than Damon. Furthermore, Yankees do not need Damon to play in the field because Granderson can do a better job.